Return to Maria
by Metatroll124
Summary: Finally, after much preparation, Eren is ready for another attempt to reach the basement of his house in Shiganshina Dirstrict. Preparations have already begun, and the Survey Corps is setting out for Wall Maria. Only now will determine if the Wings of Freedom is ready to take flight or have its feathers plucked off by the titans human by human...


_Hundreds of years ago, humanity was forever doomed by the existence of the titans. The titans had forced humanity into the choice of fighting a hopeless war that seemed like a doomed existence for humanity._

_ First, it was 845. The colossal titan appeared and tore down the walls of Shiganshina District, spilling the first drops of blood caused by the titans in 100 years._

_ Then, Wall Maria followed shortly afterward. Hundreds of humans died at the hands of their ultimate nightmares. Wall Rose was definitely next. _

_ But now, hope, as it always has, shines in the darkest of nights. And with hope, comes courage. And with courage, comes the will to fight. And with the will to fight, comes victory..._

**_Part 1:Preparations_**

Eren was preparing for another journey out of the walls and into hostile territory. He held the key his father gave him in his hand, unlocking a secret in the basement of his old house in Shiganshina District. _I _will _make it to Wall Maria, _he said to himself. _I _will _unlock the secret of the basement. And I will definitely eradicate every titan on this planet. _He clenched his fist holding the key. _I SWEAR IT ON MY LIFE._

As Eren left the newly constructed barracks in Karanese District, Jean was the first to spot him.

He waved his hand, trying to catch his attention, "Hey, Eren! You finally woke up!"

Eren looked at him with a confused expression. "What do you mean 'finally'?"

Jean smirked. "Haha, you've been sleeping all morning."

"Oh," Eren slowly realized. He slept out on chores! _That means that I forgot to sweep the floors! _Eren started pacing back and forth frantically. _Aww, man! Captain Levi is gonna _kill _me!_

Jean just stared at him. "Uhh, oh yeah! Eren."

"Huh? Oh, what?"

"Mikasa wanted me to tell you to-"

_Oh no! Mikasa's gonna kill me, too! _Eren thought.

"No time!" Eren yelled, "gotta run!"

"Eren-," Jean sighed,"that dude needs to relax sometime."

Eren dashed past dozens of working soldiers from the Survey Corps, to the main building. As he burst through the door, Commander Erwin, Captain Levi, Armin, Mikasa, and Historia were sitting around a large central table. They all shifted heads and looked at him, and Erwin slowly rose from his seat.

"Well," Erwin announced, "looks like the man of the hour has arrived!"

Eren sat down next to Mikasa. The morning - technically, afternoon - sun shone through a glass window, lighting up the room with bright sunlight. He glanced at everyone sitting at the table. "Captain Hange isn't here today?"

Erwin slightly shook his head, "She's busy trying to talk with her new titan test subjects."

Levi glanced over at him, "Besides, at least it's quiet. Enjoy it while it lasts, Jäger."

Everyone laughed. Well, everyone besides Levi; that guy never laughs. Even Mikasa started to grin a little.

Eren couldn't help but smile. It was nice to have everyone able to laugh with eachother without having to worry about titans on their doorsteps.

Historia saw Eren's expression and started giggling, "Nice timing Eren. Mikasa was starting to worry about you." She winked at them both. "If you can catch my drift."

Mikasa looked at Eren with the corner of her eye, then back at Krista," it wasn't like that..."

"C'mon, Mikasa," Armin said, "take a good joke!"

"Speaking of good jokes," Levi said," I don't know what took you so long to wake up, Jäger, but the floor isn't going to clean itself." He got up and walked out,"you're lucky your friends were here."

In the distance, a bell echoed across the perimeter of the wall. Soldiers were rushing over and horses were prepared. "It's time," Erwin said. "Operation: RoM can now commence.

The gate of Karanese District slowly rose. As the soldiers from the Survey Corps marched through a crowd of cheering citizens, Eren thought to himself, _will this expedition end the same as it did last time?" _He was so lost in his thoughts that he almost fell off his horse. Mikasa, as if anticipating this, rode up to his side and held his hand. "It'll be okay," she reassured him, as she gently squeezed his hand.

Eren slowly withdrew his hand and glared,"I'm not your little brother, Mikasa. I can look after myself."

"I know," Mikasa said, looking at him as if his actions amused her,"still, if you run into any trouble, don't hesitate to find me."

Eren wanted to argue with her, but he knew deep down that she meant what she said. "Thanks,"he replied, "I'll...try not to get swallowed, this time."

Mikasa smiled back at him,"I hope not, you're gonna have to bathe for weeks."

There he was again. In titan's territory. A few abandoned buildings scattered across the landscape. Rundown mills littered everywhere. The Forest of Giant Trees was far ahead in the distance. The place where Levi's squad was...

Eren dismissed the thought. They died trying to protect him. He wont let their deaths be in vain. Not anyone else's. He's grown up since the last expedition. He feels different. He hasn't used his titan ability since that fight with Reiner. He wasn't sure if he could just call it out when he wanted it like he used to. Maybe, if he tried using it again, would he go crazy? Would he possibly...could he possibly...possibly atack Mikasa again?

His eyes slowly drifted to Mikasa as his head clouded with doubts. She was slowly rocking up and down on her horse. She looked so calm. How could she keep it like that? It's as if she never even knew that the titans existed.

Mikasa glanced over and saw Eren gaping at her with his mouth open. "Eren," she asked quietly,"Eren, what's wrong? You've been acting weird, lately."

Eren quickly shut his mouth. "N-nothing. I'm fine." _Pull yourself together, man!_

As they rode across the grassland, their first enemy revealed itself. A 15-meter tall titan charged forward, straight at them.

Immediately, two soldiers along with Captain Levi hopped off their horses and switched to 3D-maneuver as a fourth began to rally the horses together.

One of the soldiers was caught in mid-air by the titan as she screamed for her life. Captain Levi immediately flew right passed and cut the titan's arm off in one swift strike, freeing the traumatized soldier from her death. Levi then proceeded to dispatch the titan quickly. Eren gawked at Levi's swift movements and his ability with the 3D-maneuver. He felt a tugging sense in his gut. _So many experienced soldiers, _he thought to himself, _can we really make it this time?__  
_

**_Part 2: Forest of Giant Trees (will be released soon)_**


End file.
